


Things Are Looking Up

by nighthounds



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Bisexual Steve Harrington, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Hurt Steve Harrington, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Steve Harrington Needs a Hug, many mentions of hands, my b
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-07-19 03:17:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19967164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nighthounds/pseuds/nighthounds
Summary: He falls asleep feeling happy, content, safe-not alone-for the first time in over a year.





	1. Out On My Own

**Author's Note:**

> damn I don’t really like this because it’s kinda all over the place but I’ve written it so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> this is mostly me trying to figure out these characters while also having them fit my headcanons so uuuh sorry about that sksnsk  
> Title and chapter titles from Roddy by Djo (thank you Joe Keery)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He prepares himself to die.

Steve wasn’t a stranger to crushing loneliness. 

No, considering he could barely remember the last time he saw his parents in his own house, he wouldn’t call loneliness a stranger at all. 

He was so used to loneliness being his constant companion- it was persistent, looming over him even in a crowd, even when he was with Tommy H and Carol (when he considered them friends), that he found himself surprised when it left him.

The first time he noticed its missing presence was when he was with Nancy. What it was about her- he didn’t know. But she drove away the loneliness, and it was… comforting. He thought it was what home should have felt like.

That ended when he saw her with Jonathan.

He wasn’t quite sure who he was jealous of, but he bottled that up and pushed it away before it could make itself fully known. 

The second time he noticed its disappearance- as brief as the moment had been- was after Steve whacked the shit out of something straight from his nightmares and Jonathan set the thing on fire, when the three of them stood on the porch, watching and waiting. It didn’t last long after that, when he saw, out of the corner of his eye, Jonathan and Nancy look at each other, communicating without words. He bid his goodbyes then, and no one said anything when he took the bat with him. 

Sleep that night was impossible, even with the bat leaning against his nightstand, within arm's length and ready to be used at a moment’s notice.

Even though Steve and Nancy continued to date, it wasn’t quite the same. Though he didn’t feel as lonely, it lingered around every corner. But it was gone just enough for him to allow himself to ignore it. 

But that too had ended. It ended in a bathroom at a party he dragged Nancy too. It ended with a drunkenly slurred “-like we’re in love-” when he stormed out of the house and let Jonathan take care of her instead. 

He went back to his lonely household and didn’t fall asleep until 2:37 am.

The third time he noticed it missing, it was- surprisingly enough- when he was hanging out with Dustin Henderson of all people. The boy who just jumped into his car without a second thought, whose crazy plan he went along with without much of a second thought. He’d rather be there to make sure no children die, anyways.

As he walked down the tracks with Dustin, carrying a bucket of raw meat and giving him bad advice about how to get girls, he realized that this wasn’t so bad. It felt nice, oddly enough. He hasn’t felt this good in a while. While he was waiting in a decrepit bus with three other children, he didn’t feel as good as before- apprehension, anxiety, fear of what might happen dampened that- but he still felt okay. 

Then he was too busy defending himself from multiple hellhounds and defending the children he had spent the past few hours with, making sure that if anyone died tonight it would be him. He couldn’t help the relief that flooded him when the demodogs turned and left.

Then he followed the damn things with his ragtag group of kids.

His heart gave a little twinge when he saw Nancy and Jonathan standing at the gate but buried it before it could do anything else. There were bigger things to worry about. 

Nothing was happening, and then all at once everything was happening; Jonathan’s car came speeding towards them as they hastily jumped out of the way, only to jump into Hopper’s car with Steve herding them all in. 

Everything passed in a blur and suddenly Dustin was explaining how the Mind Flayer worked and Steve felt like he was going crazy because none of this should be real and yet _here they are._ Then he’s stapling anything and everything to the wall of the Byers’ shed. Nancy is talking to him but he really doesn’t want to talk so he deflects using the kids and that seems to be the end of that conversation, but for some reason, he feels bad about shutting her down like that. 

They’re all waiting as Mike, Jonathon, Joyce, and Hopper try to talk to Will and things get a little exciting as they translate the morse code, but then the phone rings twice and Steve feels his stomach drop. Everyone from the shed comes rushing back into the house and he stands with Nancy and Hopper in the first line of defence with his bat of nails, but then the demodog comes flying in through the window, dead, and a goth girl comes walking in through the front door and _there’s so much to take in._

He’s grateful when everything cools down for a bit and he’s tasked with digging up every heater in the pile of stuff that was expelled from the shed. With Nancy. He figured this was his only shot to say it.

“It’s okay, Nance. It’s okay.”

It hurt.

He’s watching Jonathan, Joyce, Nancy, and Will drive away. And then he’s watching Hopper and El drive away. He’s shoving a dead demon into a freezer, and he’s thankful for the relative quiet that’s fallen over the house. But, of course, soon enough these kids are coming up with a plan that’s crazy and will certainly get them killed. He wishes the shitheads would listen to him. 

Then Billy fucking Hargrove happens. He still wishes the shitheads would listen to him when he gets a kick to the stomach. 

Steve drags himself up, rage coursing through him and he walks in and decks Billy in his face.

Steve would’ve won (he’s not King Steve for no reason) if Billy hadn’t smashed a plate on his head. The last thing he remembers is Billy punching the shit out of him- and then he wakes up in the backseat of a car as Max drives them.

Of course he flips out, even though she really wasn’t doing a bad job besides going way too fast. He still wishes they would listen to him. He continues to wish this as he leads them through the tunnels, as the goggles dig into some of the cuts on his face, and when he hears Dustin freak out. And especially when they light the place on fire and run from the demodogs, running into Dart who Dustin distracts with a Three Musketeers of all things.

He prepares himself to die when the things run past him instead. 

They’re standing in front of the car when the lights grow blinding and makes his already aching head hurt ten times over. He doesn’t know exactly what it means, but he has a feeling that it’s over. For now. He takes them back to the Byers house. All the kids make it inside and Billy isn’t there, but Steve leaves the keys in the car and after he closes the door to the house, he can hear the engine start-up and take off down the street. He waits until everyone gets back to make sure they’re all okay, and then slips out when he thinks nobody’s eyes are on him.

A concerned pair of teens watched him go before looking at each other and silently following him out.


	2. Make Another Home Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Nobody should be alone right now, Steve.”

He really didn’t feel good. His face was throbbing in time with his heart and his head felt like it was going to split in two. He just wanted to go home and sleep it off. 

He made it down the porch and about halfway down the driveway, his arms crossed over his torso as his stomach twinged with every step, when he felt something gently grab his elbow. He flinched away so violently it made him stumble a bit as he turned to look at who- or what- had touched him. 

Jonathan was standing there next to Nancy, an arm stretched out indicating he had been the one to grab him. They both were staring at him in concern. He hugged himself a little bit tighter.

“Steve, where are you going?” Nancy asked.

“Home?” he said, confused. “Where else would I go?”

Jonathan gestured to his house. “You could stay here, with the rest of us.”

Steve scrunched his face in confusion but stopped when his face complained at the action.

“Why? Nobody needs me here.”

An emotion that Steve couldn’t identify flashed across both of their faces before they went to either side of him. Nancy put a hand on his upper back as Jonathan put a hand on his lower back.

“Nobody should be alone right now, Steve.” Jonathan said, gently.

Steve knew he should fight it more- all he was doing was taking up space- but his mind lingered on the feeling of their hands, the warmth of their bodies pressed against his. He was so tired of fighting. 

Steve just nodded and let them take him back inside.

Nancy gently swung the door open and they all stepped inside. As the door closed again, Steve found himself with an armful of a curly-haired nerd.

“Why the hell did you leave, asshole?!” Steve shrugged as he hugged Dustin back. 

“I didn’t see any point in staying.” Dustin looked up and glared at him. 

“If you weren’t already hurt, I’d punch you.”

Steve snorted. “Yeah, I’m sure you would.”

Dustin dragged Steve away from Nancy and Jonathan, whose lost warmth he mourned, and made him settle down at the edge of the kid pile on the floor in the living room. All the kids watched him and Dustin get comfortable before throwing him reassuring smiles and returning to the movie playing on the TV. Jonathan and Nancy settle down on the two seater couch. And even though his head was still pounding, his wounds still throbbing in time with his heartbeat, it was… nice. 

He still couldn’t sleep, however. One by one, he watched the kids fall asleep, as Joyce excused herself to bed, and as Hopper made himself comfortable on the now empty couch and slowly fall asleep himself. Steve glanced over to Nancy and Jonathan, fully expecting them to be asleep as well. To his surprise, they were both wide awake- and looking at him. He quickly looked back at the screen, half hoping they didn’t notice him. 

“Steve.”

She says it so gently, so warmly that he can’t help but look at her. She beckons him over as her and Jonathan stand up. He hates himself a little bit for much he wants to listen to her, to follow her to the ends of the earth. Steve gently manoeuvres Dustin’s head off his lap before standing up. He wraps his arms around himself again, and makes his way over to them. They put their hands on his back again, in the same places that they were in before, and the three of them shuffle down the hall to Jonathan’s room. 

They gently push Steve into the room and Nancy leaves as Jonathan digs through his closet for a moment before turning back around and handing Steve a pile of clothes.

“Here, change into these. They’re bound to be much more comfortable than what you have on now.”

Steve nods and takes it, setting it on the bed before yanking his shirt off. As he does, he hears a gasp and a sharp inhale. Nancy’s back, holding a damp rag and a box of bandaids, and they’re both staring at his stomach. He looks down and sees the mottled bruising that had blossomed from Billy’s kick. He twists his body away, just a little bit, embarrassment slowly creeping up his neck as he grabbed the shirt and threw it on. Luckily, that was enough movement to break their staring contest and they simply waited patiently for him to finish redressing.

The shirt was a little bit too short and the pants only just fit, leaving a small strip of skin between shirt and pants. Steve didn’t mind, however. The shirt was soft and well worn, and the pants were warm. He could fall asleep right there. Jonathan sits down on the bed after pulling down the covers and pats the spot next to him, and Steve sits without thinking too much about it. 

“I need to take these bandaids off so I can clean those cuts, alright Steve?” She knelt in front of him. He just nodded in response. 

He tried his best to stay quiet but couldn’t help the small whine as one of the bandaids pulled a little too harshly at his tender skin. Jonathan grabbed his hand and rubbed little circles into it with his thumb, carefully avoiding his slightly bruised knuckles. The action made him want to cry, but he settled for simply closing his eyes in hopes that neither of them saw the tears that had begun to form.

A warm, damp washcloth gently wiped at his face, getting rid of the blood that had dried up, and soon after that a gentle hand carefully placed bandaids back over the bigger cuts. His skin no longer felt tight on his face and the gentle touches made him want to fall asleep. He hasn’t felt this comfortable in a long time. 

Both pairs of hands gently coaxed him to lay in the bed and, well, who was he to argue. He opened his eyes and got settled, blankly watching Jonathan and Nancy get dressed into their own sets of pyjamas. Jonathan’s clothing hung loosely on Nancy; the shirt slipped off one shoulder and she had to cinch the drawstrings on the pants. Jonathan looked much more at ease. They caught him looking and gave him a gentle smile. Steve responded with a small smile of his own before shutting his eyes again. Someone shuts off the light. 

Steve feels them climb into the bed on either side of him and he briefly opens his eyes again, the silhouette of Jonathan in front of him. Small, deceivingly delicate hands find their way to his waist as Nancy presses herself to his back and Jonathan pulls the covers over all of them. Steve wiggled a little closer to him. 

Two hands make their way to either side of his head and deft fingers tentatively massage into his temples. Steve practically _moans_ as his entire body goes lax, losing a tension he didn’t even know he had. The fingers stop for a minute; just long enough for Steve to gently grab Jonathan’s wrist in a silent ask to continue. Steve opens his eyes just enough to see Jonathan’s face- as much of it as he can see in the dark, that is- and gives him a lazy smile, heart racing a little bit when he sees Jonathan smile back.

He falls asleep feeling happy, content, safe- _not alone-_ for the first time in over a year.


	3. Welcome to My New Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He felt that this is what home is supposed to feel like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry that this took so fuckin long lMAO  
> shoutout to my good pal Jam for helping me out with this uwu

Warm. He was warm. But he was comfortable. 

Steve groans a little bit as he opens his eyes, trying to blink reality into focus. The windows allowed enough sunlight that the entire room was bathed in it. He was facing Jonathan still, his face gentle and relaxed. He looked more peaceful than Steve had ever seen him before. There were no lines of tension, of stress. He laid there memorising the moment, taking in every detail. The way the gentle morning sun laid itself on Jonathan’s face, basking him in a yellow warmth. Steve wanted to turn around and look at Nancy- to see her face in the same sunlight- but found himself trapped in both of their arms. Instead, he settled for memorising the warmth of her against his back, and the weight of her arms keeping him still. He sighed and closed his eyes, determined to remember this moment for a long time; to remember how safe he feels, how _good_ it feels to be held for once. 

But, slowly, a guilty feeling began to build deep within his guts. He couldn’t help but remember the nasty things he said about Jonathan and his family, and the horrible things he sat by and watched get spray painted about Nancy and how he had ignored her problems. And here they were, holding him of all people. He didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve them.

He opened his eyes again and began to carefully manoeuvre his way out of their arms. 

Steve slides off the end of the bed, landing in a somewhat ungracious heap. Suppressing a pained noise as his body protested, he drags himself back up, watching Jonathan and Nancy in case he accidentally woke one of them up. They hadn’t even moved. He took a look at his clothes heaped onto the floor, recoiling at how dirty they are. Hopefully, Jonathan won’t mind him borrowing his clothes for a bit. He gathered up his stuff and walked out, stopping once in the doorway to look at them once more before heading down the hallway. 

He hunted down his bat, finding it in the backpack the kids had put it in when they kidnapped him. Figuring that since he’s already borrowing Jonathan’s clothes, he may as well borrow the backpack as well. He replaces the bat with his dirty clothes and slings it onto his shoulder. After finding his shoes in the mountainous pile, he quietly slips outside and makes the trek home. 

It took Steve a while to actually get home, even though he wasn’t terribly far from the Byers’ place. It was still somewhat of a trek, and his body wasn’t too happy about all the movement. But he still made it home before an hour had passed, so he considered it a small victory. He fumbled with his keys to get the door open, only having half a mind to lock the door behind him after kicking his shoes off. God, he was exhausted now. He threw the bag by the bottom of the stairs and sluggishly made his way up to his room. He leaned his bat by his bed- as he did a year ago- and slid himself under his bedsheets and slowly drifted to sleep. 

Steve wasn’t nearly as comfortable as he was when he fell asleep in their arms. 

He woke up some hours later feeling sluggish and hazy. He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to open them yet, feeling content in ignoring the world for a while. What he really wanted was to fall back asleep- and he might’ve fallen back asleep too if it weren’t for the sound of two voices finally drifted in. His body went tense. 

“-cute when he’s asleep.” Jonathan.

“Isn’t he?” Nancy.

A broad hand cupped his face, thumb gently brushing across his cheek.

“These freckles are pretty cute too.”

Steve finally cracked an eye open at that. 

“What are you guys doing here?” He croaked out. Nancy rolled her eyes and smiled. 

“Hello to you too, sleeping beauty.”

“How did you guys get in?” 

“You told me where your extra key is, Steve.” She raised an eyebrow with this statement. 

“Oh.”

Jonathan snorted at their conversation. Steve stayed silent for a moment, enjoying the soothing motions of Jonathan’s thumb, before speaking again.

“Why are you guys here?”

The thumb stopped and the hand left. Jonathan looked confused.

“What do you mean?” Jonathan asked. 

“Like- why are you guys here? At my house?”

Steve could see Nancy frown as Jonathan answered. 

“We’re here for you. Why else would we be here?”

Steve furrowed his eyebrows, still confused, and opened his mouth to ask another question but Jonathan cut him off.

“Why did you leave?”

“I didn’t want to impose.” He gave a half shrug. He really didn’t want to talk about the real reason right now. Or ever.

“You weren’t though.”

“I wasn’t needed.”

Nancy had stayed quiet up until now.

“That’s bullshit.”

Steve couldn’t help his flinch. 

“Nancy-“ Jonathan started.

“I’m sorry, but it is! It’s bullshit!”

It went quiet as Steve rolled over, facing away from them, curled into himself, and buried his face into a pillow, shutting his eyes tightly. He wished he had just gone back to sleep. He wished that they weren’t here. But that was a lie, he was glad that they were here, it’s just that-

He heard shifting and the comforter lifted behind him, the bed dipped and one of the two slipped in. He knew it was Nancy when those deceivingly delicate hands held him like they did that morning. Jonathan slipped into the bed in front of him and his hands held Steve’s face again. 

“Hey.” Jonathan’s voice was so, so soft. “Look at me.”

And Steve did because he couldn’t refuse when Jonathan spoke to him like that; like he was the only thing that mattered. He watched as Jonathan’s concerned face smoothed into a comforting smile.

“There we go. Much better.”

Steve let out a shaky breath. Jonathan shifted closer.

“Are you still wearing my clothes?”

“Yeah. ‘M sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s cute.”

He couldn’t help the small smile as he looked at Jonathan’s face. He leaned his head forward a little bit and Jonathan responded by leaning his forehead on Steve’s.

Steve felt a pair of lips kiss the back of his neck and he opened his mouth to say something but was stopped by Jonathan kissing him. He froze.

This couldn’t be happening. _This couldn’t be happening._ He had to be dreaming; there was no way _Jonathan Byers_ of all people was kissing _him_. But, dream or not, he wasn’t one to leave someone hanging so he kissed Jonathan back. Not to say it was insincere; and he was pleasantly surprised by how much he enjoyed the kiss, even though it made his lip sting due to the still somewhat fresh cut. His hands gripped tightly onto Jonathan’s shirt, fingers buried in the soft fabric. Everything was so overwhelming as he tried to process everything that Steve was hardly aware of the wetness on his face until Jonathan pulled back and wiped some tears away. 

“Steve?”

Nancy was leaning over him now, face pinched with worry and confusion. Jonathan’s expression matched hers. Steve let go of his shirt and leaned away from Jonathan’s hands, covering his face with his own instead.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry-” Came his broken litany, slightly muffled. Both pairs of hands rolled him onto his back.

“Steve, what’s wrong? What’re you sorry for?” Nancy asked as Jonathan carefully pulled his hands away and held them as Steve tried to put them back.

“Everything! For everything! I’m sorry for all the things I said and-” He choked on his tears. “-and for everything I did. I’m sorry-” He broke off into a harsh sob.

Jonathan gave his hands a light squeeze and started rubbing small circles into them as Nancy started brushing her fingers through his hair. They stayed quiet as he cried, comforting him as his body shook with heavy sobs.

As soon as his crying died down to small hiccups everyone shifted to get more comfortable. Now resting on his side, Steve’s head laid on Nancy’s chest and Jonathan had his arms around his waist. Nancy continued to brush through his hair.

“It’s okay, Steve. We forgive you.” Nancy stated after another moment.

He shook his head.

“I don’t-”

“Steve.” Jonathan’s voice was quiet but firm. “Trust us. It’s okay.”

Steve moved to look up at Nancy, searching her face to see if that was really true. She gave him a warm smile that made her eyes crinkle.

“Okay.” He whispered, nodding. “Okay. And you’re sure that this-” He vaguely gestured to the three of them. “-is okay?”

Nancy leaned over and gave him a kiss.

“We’re positive. We’ve been talking about it for a bit.” She threw a smug grin at Jonathan. Jonathan snorted and hid his face against Steve’s back.

“Okay. I-” He nodded. “Okay. Cool. I’m glad.”

The three of them laid there for another couple of hours, enjoying each other’s company. They talked about whatever; Nancy complained about her classes, Steve recounted the kids’ latest stunts, and Jonathan talked about how Will was doing. It was, quite frankly, adorable how Jonathan would gush about his kid brother.

But sometimes, they would fall silent and bask in each other’s presence. To Steve, there was no better place to be.

He felt that this is what home is supposed to feel like. Warm, safe, happy, and not alone.


End file.
